Going on a short notice trip this weekend with a buddy and looking for brookies. Will be on the water from Friday early AM through Sat might squeeze in an hour or two Sun morning before heading north.

I've noticed Byron keeps mentioning tribs of Walker Camp Prong; are they just further up Newfound Gap. The last time I was down I fished that stream above Alum Caves trailhead and noticed like several others that the rainbows seem to be pushing further up the hill.

How do I access Road prong? Is it as easy as walking down the Chimney Tops Trail.

And Greenbrier, the last time I fished it over Memorial Day, we followed the ol' maxim of go higher and further for better fishing. We hiked up Ramsey Cascades trail about 4 miles and did'nt catch fish. Matter of fact the only thing that was seen was millions of salamanders I mean millions. They looked like little alligators laying out on the rocks. I'm guessing we should have jumped in where the trail narrows at the first turn around.

Regarding Road Prong: It's not as easy as walking down the Chimney Tops Trail. It's as hard as hiking up the Chimney Tops Trail. Best shot is above the 4th bridge from the trailhead. It's about 3/4 mile up a relatively steep trail (Chimney Tops trail is one of the tougher 2 mile hikes in the Smokies). Tight fishing, crawling under rhododendron and over rocks and logs. It's definitely a workout.

And I'm pretty sure there are no fish, repeat NO FISH, left in that stream.

Seriously, Bones, for someone with a bum knee, this is not the place to go. I took my son who has a bum knee up to the fourth bridge once and I wasn't sure he was going to make it just to place to start fishing. However, the two of us once started at the first bridge beyond the trailhead and fished up Walker Camp Prong and he did great. And there are some great stretches of stream up through there.

Spots like the gorge of WPLP and Road Prong can just be tough to navigate if you are the least bit gimpy.